Plastic Packaging for Milk & Other Food Products

Indian dairy industry• Total Dairy industry: 7.00 lakhs crores

• Pouch milk industry: 1.3 lakhs crores

• Poly film (Qty for milk): 1.5 Lakh MT

• Poly film value : 1600 Crores

Consumer Milk Options..

Pouch Milk

UHT Milk Dairy Whitener

Condensed Milk

Skimmed Milk Powder

Loose Milk

CUSTOMER

Consumer Preference..

Pouch Milk

UHT Milk

Dairy Whitener

Condensed Milk

Loose Milk

CUSTOMER

66%

30%

3%

1%

0%

In 2019…

Changing Consumer Preference..

Pouch Milk UHT Milk

Dairy Whitener

Condensed MilkLoose

MilkCUSTOMER47%

46%

5%

2%

1%

In 2025…

Packaging evolutionMilk Powders

Tin: 100%

Tin: 75% | Line Carton: 25%

Tin: 7% | Line Carton: 16% | Flexi pack: 76%

1970’s

1990’s

2000’s

Packaging with

customer convenience

Results in change in preferences

Small Pack revolutionMilk Powders

CAGR: 16%

CAGR: 3%

Packaging Innovation time-line for milk products

Milk Cans

1940s onwards

Milk flexi‐pouches

1981

Metal tinplate Cans

1960s

Butter cardboard sleeves

Injection mouldedtubs

1986

1990

flex‐laminates & lined cartons

2002

Tetrapak

2003

Glass Bottles

2013

Blow‐mouldedPET

Glass Bottles

1960s

1960s

Packaging of Dairy & Food Products

• LDPE Film Pouch• Laminates• Metal Tins• Pet Bottle• HDPE Bottle/Jerry Cans• Aseptic Packaging• Glass Bottles• Plastic Cups/Tubs

All packaging material used are Recyclable

Plastic technologies in Milk Products

Keeping Packaging Cost Low

GHEE COST OF PKGG. MRPPKGG. COST(% of MRP)

Rs.17/Ltr. 445.00 3.8%

Rs.15/Ltr. 445.00 3.4%

Rs. 6/Ltr. 445.00 1.3%

Rs. 2/Ltr. 430.00 0.5%

Keeping Packaging Cost Low

Flavoured Milk COST OF PKGG. MRPPKGG. COST(% of MRP)

Rs. 8.00/200ml

30 26.7%

Rs.4/200ml 20 20.0%

Rs.3/200ml 20 15.0%

Aseptic Sterilizer Aseptic Sterile tank 

Air ConveyorsAseptic Filling unit

Benefits of PET Milk Bottle

Revolutionized Milk Beverage Industry with Convenient, Affordable, Light-weight & Sterile product

Packaging of Milk

• Milk is highly perishable and liquid in nature• Requires a container at every stage of

movement• Development of containers suitable for

various stages of Marketing and distributiondue to their increased demand

• Logistics intensive due to Daily Demand.• Requires refrigerated storage, hence bulk

packs like other countries not possible inIndia.

Milk Delivery Systems

Packaging Milk : Options• LDPE Film Pouch• Pet/HDPE Bottle• Aseptic Packaging• Glass Bottles• Automatic Vending Machine

LDPE Film Pouch is the best option, Why?

Liquid Milk PackagingFor packing 6 Cr lit/day pouch milk selling in India

Weight / Litre

Total Quantity/ Annum

Total Value/ Annum

Glass Bottle 650g 142 Lakh MT* 37000 Cr

PET Bottle 75g 16 Lakh MT 24000 Cr

HDPE Jerry Can 45g 10 Lakh MT 13000 Cr

LDPE Film Pouch 5g 1 Lakh MT 1600 Cr* More than total container glass industry in India

Alternate packaging material would have resulted in huge consumption of plastic (PET bottle or HDPE can for liquid milk) &

equivalent generation of waste quantity

Liquid Milk COST OF PKGG. MRPPKGG. COST(% of MRP)

Rs.0.70/Ltr 42 1.7%

Rs.2.75/Ltr 52 5.3%

Rs. 5.50/Ltr 60 9.1%

Rs. 7.50/Ltr 70 10.7%

Cost of Packaging of Milk

Economics of Pouch milkParticulars Price in Rs. Per liter 

of pouch milk% of MRP 

Consumer price  50.00Supply Chain margin  2.50 5.00%Transportation of milk  1.00 2.00%Packing cost  0.70 1.40%Processing cost, Repair and maintenance cost  2.60 5.20%

Milk transportation from village level  0.50 1.00%

Power & Fuel   1.5 3.00%Payment received by milk producer members 41.2 82.40%

Value chain of Fresh Milk Products is operating on very thin margin.Milk producer get back around 80% of consumer Rupee.

Life Cycle of Milk Pouch

Plastic : Boon or Bane ?

• Wonderful Innovation !50% of Boeing Dreamliner is made of plastic.

• High Strength to Weight ratio• Less energy required to produce compared to

other options• Substantially reduce the amount of material

required to pack & therefore less Waste generated• Takes less space for storage & transportation;

hence reduced transport cost & lower pollution• Plastics are durable and reusable as well as

recyclable.• Plastic is cost effective.

Plastic : Functionalities

1. Containment of any material/produce to store & carry easily

2. Protection : From dirt / Microbes / Oxygen / Moisture / Light / Extraneous matter

3. Consumer Convenience : • Can see the product. • Can be fabricated in various shapes (e.g odd shape) &

sizes. Ideal for very large or very small pack.• Repeated opening with zippers• Evidence of tampering• Information on pack – easy to print

4. Versatality• Can be Used alone or in conjuction with other Polymer /

Aluminium / Paper, etc

Single Use Plastic ?

While the packaging material is Single Use;Plastic used for packing food products can be recycled & used again for food or non-food applications.

Single Use :“Can’t be collected nor can be re-

cycled”

Impact on Packaging Industry?Brand Owners, Retailers, Consumers

Promote large pack-sizes Thin-walling of packaging Alternatives of plastics for

packaging Contain packaging material costs

& thereby MRP

Alternatives to Plastic?

• Paper : Weak in strength, Poor Functioanlity

• Glass : Lacks flexibility, Fragile, Heavy

• Metal : Costly, Heavy, Less flexible

• Bio-degradable plastic ?• Very Costly• Limited production• Poor functionality.

Carbon Footprint Comparison

Alternatives : Impact

• Carbon foot-print of other options –from production to disposal- is even higher.

• Bio-degradable plastic ?• Made from Corn – Food for poor people

OR Packaging ?

Role of Stake Holders

Consumer

Producer

Government

Global Trend

• Consumer Needs & Expectations Smaller & portable packages

• Flexibility Quick Change-overs

• Innovations & efficiencies Automation & Smart packaging to lower costs

• Sustainability Use of Biopolymers

Emerging Trends in Food Packaging

1.Single (Monomer) plastic for laminatesfor easy recyclability

2.Development on for Bio-degradable orCompostable plastic film for MilkPackaging

3.Option of Non–plastic film for packingof milk

Strategies for future : Long-term

• Developing more functional packagingwithin given constraints

• Reduce Over-packaging• Derive Sustainable solutions for third-

world countries• 100% recycling of single-use

packaging.• Alternate use of plastic waste: Road

building, Cement Kiln fuel, etc.• Bacteria to degrade plastics

Strategies for future : Short-termPlastics Disposal

1. Land-filling • Plastic is inert. No environmental problem.• No significant methane production• Low in volume & compressible

2. Combustion• Has high energy values• Burns cleanly & completely. Less residual Ash.• Efficient conversion of trash to energy

3. Recycling• Once recycled, can be used to make variety of

products

Strategies for future : Short-term

• Awareness of consumer• Discipline at user level• Promote Cleaning & Segregation of

waste• Promote & incentivize recycling • Decentralization of collection &

processing of waste : Co-operative Model ?

• Comprehensive regulation & mechanisms

Time-line for India for proposed change ?Points to Ponder before we conclude

• Developed countries using plastics over 100 years.India started using it 50 years ago.

• An Indian consumes 11kg plastic every year andan average American 109 kg

Thank you…

sodhi@amul.coop